Time to stage a skintervention
Something scuppering your skin goals? Here’s how to sort any lump, bump or complexion quirk
The glamorous side of skincare gets all the air time – covetable, glowgiving serums and ever-more-inventive masks. But there is a host of decidedly unglamorous skin niggles that nobody talks about – and which no face mask, however innovative or Instagrammable, can sort. Like those weird white bumps around your eyes (seriously, what are those?) or the infuriating little veins around your nostrils that you cover with concealer daily. Unless you’re willing to chance your luck with Dr Google – which is what 30% of us do when we have a skin problem – it’s hard to know how to tackle these complexion quandaries. But according to dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth, it’s worth the effort. ‘In an age of Facetune, we’re so used to seeing “flawless” faces, our eyes are more attuned than ever to imperfections. Real skin can’t live up to retouching, but treating seemingly small issues can make a huge difference to your complexion and confidence.’ So if there’s a skin complaint that’s been bothering you forever, perhaps now’s the time to show it the door…
MIND THE BUMP
That whitehead on your cheek that won’t pop despite vigorous prodding? Probably not a whitehead. It’s easy to confuse milia and whiteheads because they’re both small, white bumps, but milia feel harder, like a tiny ball under the skin. ‘ They’re tiny cysts that form when the skin’s natural exfoliation process malfunctions and keratin is trapped beneath the surface,’ says Dr Wedgeworth. While whiteheads tend to crop up around your nose and chin (where you have the most oil glands), milia are more common around the eyes, eyelids and upper cheeks. Annoyingly, we tend to get more as we age because cell turnover slows down. Squeezing won’t help because milia can’t be extracted through the pore – you need to draft in a pro. ‘A dermatologist or skilled aesthetician can pierce the surface of the skin with a fine needle and gently pull the keratin plug out,’ says Dr Wedgeworth. Don’t DIY it – that way disaster lies. To keep bumps at bay for the future, jump-start your skin’s natural exfoliating process using retinoids or alpha and beta hydroxy acids. Try Lancer Caviar Lime Acid Peel [2], £90, which contains 10% glycolic acid and 10% phytic acid, along with retinol. Or, for milia close to your eyes, Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid [1], £25 ( you still shouldn’t use this on your eyelids though).
VEIN GLORY
If your complexion is starting to resemble Google Maps, you’ll be pleased to know that now is the ideal time of year to get thread veins zapped. ‘Laser is the best treatment for visible veins, but you can’t have it done when you have a tan, and you need to avoid sun exposure for about four weeks afterwards,’ says Dr Tapan Patel, cosmetic dermatologist and medical director of the PHI Clinic ( phiclinic.com). ‘ The laser uses brief pulses of energy to heat up the small blood vessels and cause them to close.’ Don’t be daunted by the L-word – it feels like an unpleasant twang but isn’t unbearable. Several laser types can be used – a pulsed dye laser is best for thin, red veins close to the skin’s surface, whereas deeper blue or purple veins need a laser with a longer wavelength to reach them. You generally need a few sessions to nix the blighters, but be warned that more vessels can develop in the same place over time. Your best strategy for preventing them? Go easy on the vino, keep out of the sun and don’t smoke. All the aforementioned weaken the capillary walls, and alcohol also dilates blood vessels. Dr Patel also warns against overdoing moisturisers that contain alpha hydroxy acids (AHAS). ‘ Their exfoliating properties can thin the skin, making veins more visible.’
PORE FORM
Let’s get two things straight: firstly, the only person who notices your pores is you. Secondly, nobody’s skin looks good in a magnifying mirror, so step away. That said, if you’re unhappy with your pore proportions, don’t be cowed by conventional beauty wisdom that says you can’t shrink them. You just need a multipronged approach to tackle the things that make them expand. A key culprit is over-active sebaceous glands that produce too much oil. This builds up within the pore, forcing its wall to stretch. ‘Retinoids are one of the best treatments because they reduce the size of the sebaceous glands,’ says Dr Wedgeworth. We rate The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid in Squalane 5%, £11.90, Lixir Night Switch Retinol 1% [3+4], £28, and ZO Ossential Instant
Pore Refiner [5], £54. A less well-known cause is too much sun, so skipping sunscreen because you think it’ll clog your pores is a mistake. Sun exposure makes your collagen and elastin break down and, once that happens, the pore wall starts to sag. Our favourite pore-friendly SPF is Eve Lom Daily Protection SPF 50 [6], £70, which contains lactic acid to prevent clogs, plus niacinamide, which makes skin more elastic, so pores, in turn, shrink. Serious pore-fectionists might want to consider something more hardcore. ‘Procedures such as micro-needling and fractional CO2 laser resurfacing can also reduce pore size,’ says Dr Wedgeworth. ‘Both procedures stimulate the skin to produce more collagen, enhancing the underlying scaffolding of pores so they appear smaller.’
TAG TEAM
Skin tags aren’t a medical emergency – they just don’t look too hot. If you’re lucky enough not to be familiar, they’re fleshy little bumps that tend to form in areas of friction – around the neck, under your boobs, even on your eyelids. ‘Unlike milia, which are white, skin tags are flesh-coloured and often hang off the skin on a small “stalk”,’ says Dr Wedgeworth. They’re composed of normal skin tissue and fat and can happen to anyone, though they tend to run in families. ‘Pregnancy, being overweight and diabetes have also been linked to skin tags.’ So what should you do if you think you’ve got one? First, get it checked out by a doctor. ‘Skin tags are completely harmless, but there are hundreds of different lesions and some may be suspicious and indicate a possible skin cancer, so definitive diagnosis is very important,’ says Dr Patel. If you want your skin tag removed, you’ll probably need to pay to have it done privately, but if yours is small with a narrow base, your GP may